


Better

by Hogsnkisses



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Angst, Fluff, M/M, Will Byers-centric, a little theyre like 16ish, bc thats my favorite trope apparently, byler, its pretty minor angst tho, no beta we die like men, we are will byers stand first and people second in this house ok, will has a bad day and mike helps
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-03
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-14 12:28:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29171118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hogsnkisses/pseuds/Hogsnkisses
Summary: Will Byers has good days. Will Byers has average days. Will Byers has bad days.Today is one of the worse ones.Luckily for him, Mike Wheeler is there to make it bearable.
Relationships: Will Byers & Mike Wheeler, Will Byers/Mike Wheeler
Comments: 2
Kudos: 41





	Better

**Author's Note:**

> hey everyone i havent written for this fandom for awhile but uhhh heres this pls enjoy. theyre 16 in this and mike and el are just friends they never dated. i hope the characters aren't too ooc i tried my best. 
> 
> please enjoy and feel free to review and give cc! I appreciate it :)

It had been another long day of school. Will Byers felt miserable as he trudged through the hallway before his last class of the day. He tried to remind himself that the day was almost over, that he would be home soon. It helped, but not very much. 

He was pulled out of his musings as he was violently shoved into a locker. The offender didn’t even look at him as he walked past, He just kept laughing with his friends. Will thought that that might be the worst part-- they couldn’t even be bothered to look at him as they tormented him. It was times like this that he felt truly invisible. On worse days, he often found himself asking why his mom had tried so hard to bring him back to a world that seemed to have nothing but hatred for him. On days like this, he simply wondered why he bothered at all. 

Someone bumped into him again, not intentionally, but still pretty hard. He stumbled and fell, and the person mumbled a quick sorry before briskly walking away. No one stopped to see if he was okay, or even stopped at all as he tried to get back up. He was run into multiple more times before he finally managed to stand back up. 

Today was quickly turning into one of those “worse” days. 

He was pretty sure nothing could make him feel better after a day like this. 

“Hey!” He heard a familiar voice call. 

Well, maybe. 

Mike Wheeler had been Will’s best friend since kindergarten, but it honestly felt to Will like he had known him his entire life. Throughout every trial and tribulation that had happened in his short 16 years on Earth, Mike had been there. They were practically inseparable. They always had been. That’s why, when their lips had finally connected those 3 months ago, it felt natural. Somewhere along the line, their relationship had switched from best friend to something just a little bit more than that. Neither boy really minded. They didn’t know where they stood currently, but it didn’t matter to them that much. They were still best friends. That’s what really mattered. 

Mike walked up to where Will was currently standing in the hallway, smiling. His smile didn’t last long after he noticed Will’s face. “What’s wrong? Did something happen?” 

Mike had always been protective over Will, and that protectiveness had only gotten stronger after they had started kinda-sorta-maybe dating. Will appreciated it, he really did. But sometimes… it was a bit much. He didn’t always need protecting. He knew Mike’s heart was in a good place, but he couldn’t help the flicker of annoyance that raced through him as Mike continued to stare at him worriedly. 

“I’m fine.” He said, a little more defensively than he meant to. He immediately felt bad afterwards. “Just having a rough day.” 

Mike nodded in understanding, and they remained silent as they walked to their last shared class of the day. The class was history, and Will struggled to pay attention. He couldn’t help it, it was all just so, well,  _ boring. _ It didn’t help that MIke sat in front of him. It just gave him all the more excuse to admire instead of paying attention. 

MIke, in Will’s opinion, had only gotten more attractive as he got older. His hair was longer, and it fell in loose curls that framed his face. He had gotten way taller, and he was always tripping and bumping into things, as if he didn’t quite fit into his body. He was still Mike, his Mike. He still wore the same sweaters and khakis. He still got overly excited about DnD campaigns. He was still fiercely loyal and incredibly hotheaded. He just looked different.

Will, however, had not changed as much as he would’ve liked. Other than ditching the bowl cut, he felt he was still the same old kid he’d always been. Younger than his friends, and way more sensitive than he tried to let on. He was still pretty short, too, which never failed to infuriate him. When he looked in a mirror, he felt he really hadn’t changed at all. He was still plain, ordinary.. somewhat boring. 

He wondered a lot what Mike even saw in him, but he was always too afraid to ask. That felt vulnerable. 

Way more vulnerable than he ever wanted to feel again. 

The bell rang, shaking Will out of his thoughts. He sighed, and started gathering his books into his bag. Mike, always one to be impatient, had packed his bag ten minutes before class ended. Still, he waited behind for Will. He could always be patient for Will. 

Will picked his bag up, only for it to be snatched out of his hands. He looked up, surprised, to see Mike holding his bag with a smile. 

“Here, let me hold that for you.” He said sweetly, and Will felt himself blush. Mike noticed, and started faltering. “I-I mean, if you want me to. You can have it if you want.” He finished, stumbling over his words, and holding the backpack out. 

Will just shook his head softly, not meeting his eyes. He was still blushing a bit at the offer, which was just embarrassing. Mike grinned at his discomfort after realizing what caused it. 

“What? Can’t a guy be gentlemanly?” He asked playfully as they headed out of the class. It wasn’t lost on Will that Mike had held the door for him. In fact, he had been acutely aware of it. 

“Sure,  _ a guy _ can.” Will shot back, smiling bashfully. “But not you/” 

Mike pretended to be offended and scoffed, but he couldn’t keep the smile off his face. They walked to Mike’s car after that, a comfortable silence setting over him. 

As they waited for Lucas, Max and Dustin to get to Mike’s car, Will felt his mood sour once again. He was annoyed at himself for letting it happen, even though he couldn’t really help it. Sometimes bad days just stayed bad, no matter what Mike or anyone else did to try and help. He frowned softly and stared out the window, where he saw his friends laughing and having a good time as they headed to the car. 

He braced himself for his friends inevitable loudness as they shuffled into the car. They chatted animatedly as Mike started the car and pulled onto the road. 

Will tried his hardest to tune them out. He loved his friends, he really did. They had always stuck by his side. He was just not in the mood today. Could they really blame him for that?

After a while, Max leaned into the front seats and nudged Mike. “Hey, Wheeler, can you drop me off at El’s? We’re hanging out after she gets done doing whatever homeschooled kids do.” 

“Hey, Mayfield.” Mike shot back with no real malice in his voice. “Don’t you think you could’ve told me this before I started driving?” He glanced in the rearview mirror at Max, who was grinning. 

She shook her head. “Nah, it’s more fun this way. I love making you drive all around town. It brings me joy.” She said. Mike flipped her off, which earned laughs from almost everyone in the car. 

Everyone except Will. Will, to be honest, hadn’t really been paying attention. He’d been too busy brooding in the front seat. Unfortunately for him, his friends noticed. 

He felt the silence around him, and tuned back in just in time to hear Dustin look over to Mike and ask loudly, “What’s wrong with him?” 

Will could feel his face grow hot after that, but couldn’t tell if it was from embarrassment or anger. He was  _ right there _ , for crying out loud. They could’ve just asked him. Not defer to Mike like he was his keeper or something. He could feel himself growing angrier and angrier. 

Mike noticed his discomfort, and hesitated for a moment. “Uh, I don’t know. Why don’t you ask him? He’s right there.” He said, a little uncomfortable at the question. 

Dustin sighed, and turned to Will. “Uh, Will?” He said, hesitantly. 

“What?” Will snapped back. 

“Nevermind. Forget it.” He said quickly, holding his hands up. Will just shook his head and turned to face the window, trying and failing to tune his friends out again. 

He couldn’t help but notice Max staring at him disdainfully from the backseat. He liked Max well enough, and they mostly got along, but she tended to be a lot angrier than Will was used to. And he was a lot more sensitive and occasionally, irritable than  _ she _ was used to. It didn’t mix well sometimes. 

Will could tell she was gearing up to say something, and he sat there praying that she wouldn’t. He just really, really didn't want to deal with this today. 

Whoever he was praying to ignored his pleas, however, because after another minute or two of uncomfortable silence, she spoke up. 

“Geez, Will. It was just a question. No need to be an asshole.” 

Will knew she hadn’t meant any real harm by the statement. He knew he was being a little bit of an asshole, too, but that didn’t stop his face from turning red. It didn’t stop the tears that were suddenly burning in his eyes. He was frustrated, he was upset, and he was so, so tired. Was he not allowed to have one bad day? Did he have to be happy and bubbly all the time? He felt miserable just thinking about it- he seriously doubted he could do it all day. He could feel the pressure piling up on him, and he seriously thought he might collapse from the weight. All he wanted was to be upset without feeling like he was committing a crime. Was that seriously too much to ask. 

He didn’t respond to her, other than mumbling a quick “sorry”. He turned to face completely out the window, in the hopes that his friends wouldn’t catch on to the fact that he was crying, just a little bit. 

If they did, they didn’t say anything, and the rest of the ride was filled with an awkward silence as Mike dropped everyone off one by one. 

After dropping Max off, Mike pulled out of the driveway and started down the road again. Will stared out the window resolutely, and tried his best to inconspicuously wipe the tears away. Will startled a bit as he felt something on his leg, and looked down to see that Mike had placed his hand on his knee and was rubbing it comfortingly. Will smiled sadly at that, and placed his hand on top of Mike’s.Mike didn’t say or do anything else, other than occasionally glancing at Will when he thought he wasn’t looking. 

Will was dreading pulling up to his own house. He knew Mike would want to talk, to try and fix whatever was making Will upset. Will wished he could make him know that he just couldn’t. Some things were just unfixable. Will definitely considered himself one of those things. 

When they pulled up to his house, Will braced himself. But Mike took him by surprise. Instead of a huge speech, he simply turned the car off. 

“Can I come inside?” He asked. Will nodded, confused. 

Mike grabbed Will’s bag again and opened his door. Will followed suit. Mike didn’t bother knocking, instead just opening the door and stepping inside. He knew no one was home, so what was the point? Will followed Mike as he walked into his bedroom and sat on his bed. 

Will stood at the door, unsure of what to do. Mike hadn’t been alone in his house since they had kissed. It felt inappropriate, somehow. Sure, they weren’t really dating, and, Will thought, they probably never would, but it still felt a little wrong. Like he could get in trouble at any moment. He knew Mike would never do anything Will didn’t want him to, but he hesitated anyways. 

If Mike could tell Will was nervous, he didn’t show it. Instead, he scooted over to the wall and patted the spot next to him. 

It was an invitation, and Will accepted it. He sat down next to Mike, and settled into his side once Mike put his arm around him. Will sighed as Mike reached up and lazily started running his hand through Will’s hair. 

After a while, Mike spoke. “I’m sorry you had a rough day, Will.” 

Will only sighed in return, and leaned more into Mike’s side. He turned his face into Mike’s shirt and let himself be comforted for just a little bit. 

Will had to admit, as much as he liked feeling independent, it was nice to be taken care of sometimes. 

Eventually, they were laying down, lazily intertwined together in a mess of arms and legs. Mike was lazily rubbing Will’s back with one hand, and holding Will’s hand with his other. He didn’t say anything. He was just  _ there _ . That’s all Will could really ask for. 

“Thank you.” Will said quietly after a while. 

“For what?” 

“I don’t know. Being here. Not asking me a million questions or calling me an asshole.” 

“That’s okay, love.” Mike replied sleepily, and Will felt his heart flutter. Mike had never called him  _ that _ before. He decided he liked it, very much. He really hoped Mike remembered that and called him it again sometime. 

They stayed like that for a little longer. Will didn’t feel fine again, not even close. But he did feel better. He figured Mike had that effect on him. 

Mike couldn’t fix everything, and Will knew that. But he helped in any way that he could. 

And that’s all Will could really ask for. 


End file.
